George howe winkler



I WINKLERI DENTAL 17001,.

Patented Jan. 26,1897.

' INVENTOR fiowefli'nkl ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE.

GEORGE HOlVE YVINKLER, OF NElV YORK, N. Y.

DENTAL TOOL.

SEECIFIOATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 575,750, dated January26, 1897.

I Application filed {H1118 25, 1896. Serial No. 596,878. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE HOWE WINK- which the following is a full,clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in dental instruments; and itconsists in the improved mechanical construction, hereinafter described,of the tools used for removing calcareous or other deposits or operatingin a case of neorosed bone. My invention is, however, particularlyefficient in removing concretions that may have formed upon the roots ofteeth.

The objects of my invention are to provide an instrument which willrapidly and efficiently perform the function for which it is intendedand which Will lessen the liability to lacerate or otherwise injure thesurrounding gum or alveolar process and thereby reduce the painattending said operation, said instrument being self-clearing during thecutting or scraping process, thereby expediting and rendering moreeffioacious the operation.

The instruments to which this improvement primarily relates are chisels,sealers and scrapers, excavators, and the like.

In the disease termed pyorrhoea alveo-- laris (Riggss disease)calcareous deposits are found firmly adhering to the roots of teeth,forcing the surrounding tissue away and slowly but surely causing theteeth to become badly loosened. The first step in the treatment of thedisease consists in removing the deposit by the use of chisels, scalers,or other suitable instruments, which are inserted between the root andthe surrounding gum and v by means of which the concretion is attackedMy invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a side elevation of an instrument, on an enlarged scale,containing my invention in operation. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of theinstrument illustrated in Fig. 1, the lower end of the said instrumentbeing shown in section. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a modification ofmy invention, the lower portion of the tool being shown in section. Fig.4 is a front elevation of the lower end of the instrument illustrated inFig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the instrument shown in Fig.3.

The instrument illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 4 is commonly termed asealer, comprising a handle portion A and a blade B. Toward the lowerend of the blade B there is formed an upwardly-directed cutting edge 0.D is a perforation adjacent to said cutting edge for the purpose ofmaking the tool what may be termed self-clearing.

E, Fig. 1, is a tooth, upon one of the roots of which is a hardcalcareous deposit F.

In operation the thin blade of the sealer is inserted between the gumand the root of the tooth, and by a drawing motion the cutting edge 0engages with and breaks up the said calcareous depos'it. The fault foundwith the instruments now commonly in use is that the delicate cuttingedge is clogged up by the detached fragments of the calculus, so thatthe progress of the operation is materially retarded, inasmuch as theinstrument has to be frequently removed and cleaned. To overcome thisserious objection and to render the instrument self-clearing during theprocess of breaking up and removing the concretion, I have provided at apoint closely adjacent to the cutting edge a perforation D, throughwhich the broken-up par ticles G of the calculus pass, as illustrated inFig. 1. By this means the efficiency of the tool is materially increasedand the operation rendered more effective and less painful.

In Figs. 3 and 5 I have illustrated amodification of my invention, thesaid modification consisting, primarily, in providing anoutwardly-directed cutting edge H, as well as an inwardly-directedcutting edge 0, so that the instrument illustrated in the said figuresmay perform the function of a chisel as Well as a sealer. A is thehandle of the combined sealer and scraper. ll is the blade thereof. Atthe lower extremity of the blade 13 there is provided anoutwardly-projecting cutting edge II, so that the instrument may be usedas a chisel adapted to remove the calcareous deposit by a strokedirected from the crown toward the root of the tooth, involving a pushing motion. D is a perforation closely adjacent to the end of theinstrument and directly adjacent to the cutting edge G. \Vhen theinstrument is used as a chisel, the brokenup fragments of the foreigndeposit enter the perforation D, which forms a pocket by which a portionof the deposit may be removed by withdrawing the instrument. Byproviding the said pocket D more room is afforded be tween thetooth-root and the gum, so that with a given quantity of broken-upcalculus the gum is not pressed away from the tooth as much as when asolid chisel is used.

The above-described tool may be used wherever it is desirable to scrapeor otherwise operate on a bony structure, whether surrounded by a tissueor not.

It is apparent that in carrying out my invention some changes in theparticular construetion shown and described may be desir- I 2. In adental instrument a thin blade havin an upwardly-direeted cutting edge,an d a perforation or clearance-opening through said blade adjacent tosaid cutting edge.

In a dental instrument a blade having a cutting or chisel edge formed atits outer extremity, a perforation through said blade 5 closely adjaccnt to said cutting edge and forming an. upwardly-direeted cuttingedge di-- rectly adjacent thereto, substantially as described.

K GEORGE HOWE WINKLER.

. Vitnesses:

GEORGE Howe WINKLER, J r., JOHN E. DONOVAN.

